I hope that the Constitutional Court’s ruling on abortion will be annulled soon. I have already had discussions with the Minister of Health, Izabela Leszczyna, about implementing such changes as soon as possible, said Katarzyna Kotula, Minister of Equality, in an interview with Gazeta.pl.
Today, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that Poland had violated the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to a pregnant woman who, due to the reform of Polish law, did not have access to legal abortion due to fetal Down syndrome . He added that the woman was exposed to suffering and serious psychological consequences.
During the pregnancy of the Polish woman, born in 1985, doctors confirmed Down syndrome in the fetus at the 14th week. In 2021, a planned abortion in a Warsaw hospital was canceled due to legal reforms following the Constitutional Court ruling.
The Court ruled that Poland art. 8 of the Convention, on the right to respect for private and family life.
This verdict confirms what we have been saying for years: women should have the right to choose, especially in cases where the fetus has serious defects, including genetic defects.
— Kotula commented on the ECtHR judgment.
She added that before or after the elections, there were voices, even from the right of the political scene, that “the ruling of the Constitutional Court on political orders was a mistake.”
The government member recalled that two bills from the left regarding abortion were submitted to the Sejm after the elections. The first – ‘on safe termination of pregnancy’ – presupposes the right to terminate the pregnancy up to the 12th week, regardless of the reason (after this period abortion would be possible, for example in the case of a serious fetal abnormality or a threat to life and women’s health). The second project includes: removing provisions from the Criminal Code that would punish a woman for terminating a woman’s pregnancy or for assisting a woman in terminating her pregnancy (if there are no grounds for a legal abortion).
The only thing that could change the situation of women and their families at this point is the move towards decriminalization. This should be our new compromise immediately. There is no question of a return to the compromise that was in force. A new compromise could be decriminalization, pending the presidential elections
– noted Minister Kotula.
Before it is possible to introduce decriminalization or decriminalization, we will certainly work with the Minister of Health, Izabela Leszczyna, to guarantee women access to safe, legal abortion in the case of legal grounds that remain and those that the Constitutional Court has abolished by a political judgment.
– she announced.
She ruled that this would be possible through a “regulation or other regulation”.
I would like to remind you that we also declared that we would annul this judgment of the Constitutional Court. I hope the cancellation will happen soon. In any case, I have already had discussions with Minister Izabela Leszczyna about making such changes as soon as possible, even if immediate decriminalization is not implemented.
– emphasized Katarzyna Kotula.
The Court also unanimously declared inadmissible the case of 927 women of childbearing age who declared that they were potential victims of a violation of their right to terminate their pregnancies, even in the case of fetal abnormalities.
The abortion decision of Tusk’s coalition
I assume that the majority coalition, which is determined to improve the situation of Polish women, will probably come up with its first proposals on this issue within a few weeks.
– said Deputy Minister of Justice Arkadiusz Myrcha on Radio RMF24.
Today, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland had violated the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to a pregnant woman who, due to the reform of Polish law, did not have access to legal abortion due to fetal Down syndrome. At issue is the 2020 ruling of the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the provision allowing abortion in the event of severe and irreversible fetal impairment or an incurable disease that threatens the life of the fetus is unconstitutional. The ECtHR ruled that Poland art. 8 of the Convention, on the right to respect for private and family life.
When asked how quickly Poland would implement the European Court of Human Rights ruling, Myrcha said he hoped this would happen immediately.
He noted that this is a very important ruling, which on the one hand shows that the Constitutional Court’s judgment on abortion regulations “violates the right to privacy of the injured party, and on the other hand – no matter how cruel it is – sounds bare – to torture within the meaning of the European Convention on Human Rights” – said Myrcha. He added that this is the reality for many women right now, after this verdict.
We assume that once the (new) government is installed and everyone can quietly return to work, I expect that the first solutions will alleviate the situation of Polish women sooner rather than later.
– he said.
He emphasized that this is not a single ministerial problem and that it concerns both the Ministry of Health and Education and the approach of the Public Prosecution Service.
I assume that the majority coalition, which is determined to improve the situation of Polish women, will probably come up with its first proposals on this issue within a few weeks.
– he pointed out.
When asked about this issue and the fact that European judges emphasized that the Constitutional Court ruling was unlawful, he said that “this debate has a journalistic dimension, but also a legal dimension – what is the binding force of the rulings what they (judges) decide?” “students”.
We know that if the composition (of the court) is defective, these judgments are made, they are final and there is a problem with their legal status
– he said.
He added that “although the situation of the “doubles” in the Constitutional Tribunal can be explained by a resolution of the Sejm, we will have to address through legislation the consequences of these rulings with the participation of “doubles” and possibly the problems will have to be corrected. errors resulting from it, which are invalid due to incorrect composition,” Myrcha said.
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— Katarzyna Kotula, Minister for Equal Treatment. At pro-abortion protests she shouted: “And today I say: get the fuck out!”
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Source: wPolityce